


The Meeting

by ideserveyou



Category: Arthur of the Britons
Genre: Brothers, First Meeting, Friendship, Gen, Pre-Canon, The Pupil
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-07-24
Updated: 2010-07-24
Packaged: 2017-10-10 18:41:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/102873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ideserveyou/pseuds/ideserveyou
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arthur and Kai meet for the first time</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Meeting

It's raining in the Celtic settlement, and little Kai is lost.

The hut that he and Llud have been given was full of people all morning, coming to offer condolences to Llud on the loss of his family and his homestead, welcoming him back to the village, bringing food and blankets and a table and cooking pots, exchanging the latest news. All of them talking, talking, in their unfamiliar accents, the men bluff and practical, clapping Llud briefly on the shoulder, the women fussing and shedding noisy tears and arguing with each other over which side of the hearth it would be best to put the bed. But all of them falling silent at the sight of the small, serious child sitting silently on the stool in the corner, his chin defiantly raised but his fingers playing nervously with the Saxon wolf pelt slung over his tunic.

Some of them were afraid of him. Some of them cursed under their breath, or made the sign to avert the evil eye, or spat on the ground at his feet when Llud wasn't looking. Some simply ignored him, while others tried to talk Llud out of keeping him.   
Not one of them spoke directly to him or even smiled at him.   
He knew that not one of them wanted him to be there.  
He didn't think he could hold back the tears for much longer, but he didn't want any of them to see him cry.

So he slipped out of the hut while everyone was looking the other way, and for half an hour or more he's been wandering through the village in the dismal rain. So far he has encountered nobody, which is good; but he's growing damp and chilly, which is not so good, and he's beginning to think about returning to the hut, because there he knows there is food, and a fire, and at least one person who will be pleased to see him. Already he has complete faith in the strange, taciturn warrior who has taken him in and given him a new name; he knows he can rely on Llud's protection and that all the protestations of the villagers will not change Llud's mind. The man is strong, stronger than anyone Kai has ever met before, and unlike the brash, boastful Saxon warriors his strength is on the inside. Having once adopted Kai, he'll take on the world on his behalf.  
With this in mind, Kai turns round to go back to the hut.

Only he can't find his way. All these Celtic huts look pretty much alike to him; they don't have horns or branches or animal skulls over the door lintels, and one leather door curtain looks just the same as another when they're all damp anyway. He dare not peek round any of the doors for fear of picking the wrong house - he is well aware that without Llud to protect him, he could well encounter much worse than just curses and spit - and the more alleyways he tries, the more confused he becomes. He has a lump in his throat but he is fighting the tears, just as he's been watching Llud do ever since yesterday morning, when he built a pyre from the remains of his homestead, laid the bodies of his wife and son on it, spoke a farewell to their spirits in a clear, firm voice, set the fire and watched it burn. Then methodically collected every useable item he could salvage from the wreckage of his home, and finally took the wolf pelt and the axe from Kai's father's body and brought them to him, before they began their journey back to the village. The axe is in the big storage chest in the hut now; he'll be given it when he's big enough. Maybe by then he'll be brave enough to be a warrior, and make Llud proud of him... If Llud can be brave, so can he.

He rounds the corner of yet another dismal hut and finds himself in the yard in front of the longhouse. He knows that's where the village leader lives, although he hasn't seen him yet. He wonders whether the leader will curse him too, or worse, tell Llud that he'll have to send him away...  
He feels the tears prickling the corners of his eyes.

'Hey! Saxon!'  
Three bigger boys are suddenly blocking his path.  
'What are you doing here, Saxon?'  
'Get lost, Saxon!'  
'Go back to your Saxon pigsty where they won't notice your stink!'  
The insults keep coming and the boys are closing in on him with hate in their dark eyes. Kai moves to dodge around them, still without saying a word; the biggest of the three bends to pick up a jagged stone.  
But he never throws it.

'Leave him alone!'  
A high, clear voice rings out from the door of the longhouse. The three boys stop in their tracks and Kai turns his head to see a small, slight, dark-haired figure bounding down the steps to place himself firmly between Kai and his tormentors.  
'It's just some filthy Saxon brat .'  
'Dressed in his filthy Saxon furs - '  
'I said, leave him alone. He can dress like a Saxon if he wants to. You'll answer to Llud if you harm him - and you'll have to answer to me first. And to my father.'  
This boy is perhaps six years old, or seven; at any rate a good year or two younger than Kai, and about half the size of the three other lads. But he holds himself with perfect self-assurance and faces them down; not one of them can look him in the eye. With a few mutterings, they slink away.   
Kai has already forgotten them.  
The small boy holds out his right hand in greeting.   
'You must be Llud's new son. All the village is talking about you. I'm Arthur. Don't worry about those three, they're nothing. My father's their fathers' war leader, so they have to listen to me. I'm going to be their war leader one day, a big warrior, on a big white horse. You can have a big black one and ride beside me if you like. You can be the Saxon who rides with Arthur. Would you like that?'   
Kai nods and gives a faint smile; the ice round his lonely heart thaws a little. Arthur smiles back, seemingly unperturbed by Kai's silence.  
'What's your name?'  
With a huge effort, the Saxon boy whispers: 'Kai.'  
It is the first word he's ever spoken to a Celt.

'Kai.' Arthur considers for a moment, head on one side. 'Yes, I like that. Welcome to my father's village, Kai.'  
Kai plucks up courage to take the proffered hand. It is warm, despite the chill of the day, and Arthur's grip is strong and firm. Here is another person he can have faith in. Perhaps after all he will be able to stay here...  
'Ah, there you are. I wondered where you'd got to.' Llud's good hand descends on Kai's shoulder. 'I looked round and you'd gone. Trouble finding your way back? '  
Kai nods, and Llud ruffles his hair.  
'And I see you've met Arthur. That's good.'  
'Bran, Tarn and Rhydian were about to fight him.' Arthur grins broadly. 'I chased them away.'   
'Thank you,' says Llud, very gravely. 'I daresay they won't be the only ones. But if we've got you on our side, we can stand against anything. So... are you two going to be friends?'  
Arthur grins again, and winks at Kai, although he keeps his voice as grave as Llud's. 'Yes, I think we are.'  
Kai whispers something.  
'What was that?' Llud bends down to him, but the little Saxon shakes his head and refuses to repeat it. Llud sighs in mock exasperation as he gently takes Kai's hand to lead him home.  
But Arthur is smiling as he watches them cross the mud of the yard, for his keen ears heard what that small voice whispered.

 

'Brothers.'


End file.
